Springtime seems to be prime time for industry conferences and association meetings. Over the last few months I have been able to attend just a fraction of these events—but enough to get a feel for some of the hot topics facing consumer packaged goods companies and their packaging suppliers.

Today’s world may be facing a spate of nationalistic spats, but the truth of the matter is that nations are more closely linked now than they have ever been. The reason for that is the complex web of international trade that allows quick access to products grown or manufactured virtually anywhere in the world.

A just-released study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) ranks the 50 most innovative companies. Not surprising, the list is dominated by large corporations, but relatively few are consumer packaged goods companies (CPGs).

Packaging has two major functions: protect and sell. It’s impossible to say which is more important. However, we know packaging that effectively combines both purposes can form the basis of a brand’s image.

Haven’t you always wanted to leave your competition in the dust? To keep an eye on them, but not really care what they are doing because your brand is so wildly successful? This doesn’t have to be a fantasy: Start thinking and designing on a vertical plane instead of a horizontal one.

Events

At the completion of the webinar the viewer will have a grasp of the high level developments that are changing consumer interaction with brands along with the insights to enact change within their organization and with their brand labeling.

A recent national consumer survey revealed 8 out of 10 shoppers regularly deal with stubborn stickers and it can ruin the first impression of a new purchase. Hard-to-remove labels are causing frustration and are a common pain point, just like a dropped call or a 404 error.